3/1 To Win
Alex Pearce spoke of his delight to RamsTV after putting pen-to-paper on a new one-year extension to his contract with the club.
Last season, the commanding central defender, who joined from Reading in the summer transfer window of 2015, experienced his best season as a Ram – making a total 45 appearances in all competitions for Derby and scoring two goals.
Since the beginning of the current campaign, Pearce has provided healthy competition amongst Gary Rowett’s bolstered defensive ranks and is battling for his place alongside Richard Keogh, Curtis Davies and Jason Shackell.
So far this season, Pearce has made two starts for Derby, both of which came as captain in the Carabao Cup against Grimsby Town and Barnsley.
And after penning his new deal, Pearce spoke of his delight and determination to win back his place in the side.
“I’m really pleased to have signed the deal,” the Republic of Ireland international explained.
“It’s a great football club here and we’ve got a great set of lads, so I’m really pleased to be a part of it.
“The competition here amongst the defence is really healthy.
“At the moment Keysey (Richard Keogh) and Curt (Curtis Davies) are doing a really good job and so if I can keep them on their toes to push myself for a place then that’s all well and good.”
Whilst contact negotiations always have the potential to be problematic, Pearce explained that his decision to extend was a no-brainer for him.
The defender described how happy he was to see things run smoothly and admitted that he had a chat with Rowett during pre-season about extending his time at Pride Park.
Pearce added: “It was an easy decision for me.
“As soon as me and the club got together, things got down to business pretty quickly and got sorted fairly early.
“Everyone was happy and now it is all about cracking on from here.
“Gary (Rowett) pulled me in during the early part of pre-season and told me that he wanted me to sign the deal and be a part of things for the future.
“I was more than happy to do that. I’m delighted to be a part of the manager’s plans because we’ve got a really good squad of players here and great facilities that are all geared up for the Premier League.”
Amongst all the good news regarding his contract, Pearce also received some more good news on a personal level after finding out he is going to be a father for the first time.
He explained: “I was very excited when I found out the news.
“It’s an exciting time for me. I’m really pleased and hopefully it all can go well.”
